WATER
Water has a ratio of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen.
Properties of water
Water is colourless, clear and tasteless.
Water boils at 100 °C
Water is neutral to litmus paper or indicator.
Water is an excellent solvent
It changes the colour of an hydrous copper sulphate from white to blue.
Water freezes at 0 °C
Types of water
There are two types of water i.e
Soft water
Hard water
Soft water
This is the type of water which forms lather easily with ordinary soap.
Water is also classified as soft water when it easily produces lather with soap.
This is used due to absence of dissolved salts such as Calcium Carbonate or Sulphate (chalk and
limestone)
Soft water is classified to be slightly acidic because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Soft water may also cause corrosion of iron, steel, zinc, copper and lead. If lead is taken however into a
solution (plumbo solvency) lead poisoning will result.
Corrosion of metals is accelerated if the water passes through organic soils.
Advantages of soft water
Since soft water lathers easily with soap, it helps in saving a lot of soap when used in washing. It
is therefore economical to use soft water for washing.
It does not stain white clothes when used in laundry unlike hard water does.
Soft water does not form scales in kettles or pipes when it stays for long in a container.
Disadvantages of soft water
Soft water can easily be lead poisoning if its transferred through lead pipes or kept in lead
containers.
Jonathanolnga72@[Link]
Soft water does not help in strengthening our bones and teeth since it does not contain calcium
Soft water is not very safe for drinking as compared to hard water
Soft water has a taste which is not pleasant in the mouth.
Hard water
Is a type water which does not form lather easily with ordinary soap.
Advantages of hard water
It can provide much needed calcium and magnesium which helps in strengthening our bones and
teeth.
Hard water is tasteless better than soft water
It is less likely to cause expensive corrosion of pipes
Disadvantage of hard water
Hard water wastes soap: It is very difficult to wash clothes with hard water as it wastes soap and
leaves scum that cannot be washed out easily.
When hard water is boiled at home or an industry it leaves deposit of magnesium and calcium
salts in kettles, hot water pipes, boilers and radiators. These deposits reduce efficiency of the
boiler, kettle and hot water pipes and can cause blockage and even bursting.
Causes of hardness in water
Hardness of water is caused by the presence of the calcium ion (Ca2+) and magnesium ion
(Mg2+). These ions reach water when the soluble salts of calcium and magnesium are
dissolved by rain water and carried to water bodies. The compounds/ salts that cause
hardness of water include:
- Calcium hydrogen carbonate (Ca(HCO3)2),
- Magnesium hydrogen carbonate(Mg(HCO3)2)
- Calcium sulphate (CaSO4)
- Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4).
Action of soap on hard water
Soap is chemically known as sodium stearate (Nast). When soap is used with hard water
during washing, soap reacts with magnesium or calcium ions forming insoluble magnesium
stearate or calcium stearate. These compounds appear as white solids called scum. So,
when hard water is used for washing, a lot of soap is used because part of the soap initially
reacts with calcium and magnesium ions to form scum.
Dfn. Scum is a white insoluble substance formed when soap is added to hard water.
Jonathanolnga72@[Link]
CaSO4(aq) + 2Nast(aq) Na2SO4(aq) + Cast2(s)
Soap Scum
Types of hardness:
There are two types
Temporary hardness
Permanent hardness
Temporary hardness
This is a type of hardness which can be removed by boiling. I.e. the water can be made soft by
boiling. It is caused by the presence of calcium hydrogen carbonate or magnesium hydrogen
carbonate in water.
Permanent hardness
Is a type of hardness which cannot be removed by boiling. I.e. the hard water cannot become soft on
boiling. It is caused by presence of calcium sulphate or magnesium sulphate
Note: Temporary hard water after boiling requires less volume of soap solution to form lather than the
unboiled one. Permanent hard water even after boiling requires the same volume of soap solution to
form lather as the unboiled. This is because even after boiling.
Methods of softening water
Removal of temporary hardness from water
i) Boiling (physical method)
Boiling decomposes calcium and magnesium hydrogen carbonates to their respective carbonates, water
and carbon dioxide gas. The calcium and magnesium ions are removed as from water as insoluble
carbonates and then deposited as solids at the bottom of boilers.
Ca(HCO3)2(aq) CaCO3(s) CO2(g) H2O(l)
ii) Addition of calcium hydroxide (lime water)
Calcium hydroxide reacts with the soluble magnesium or calcium hydrogen carbonates to form insoluble
magnesium or calcium carbonates.
Ca(HCO3)2(aq) + Ca(OH)2(aq) 2CaCO3(s) + 2H2O(l)
iii) Adding sodium carbonate (washing soda): the calcium or magnesium ions are removed
𝐶𝑎(𝐻𝐶𝑂3)2(𝑎𝑞)+𝑁𝑎2𝐶𝑂3(𝑎𝑞)→2𝑁𝑎𝐻𝐶𝑂3(𝑎𝑞)+𝐶𝑎𝐶𝑂3(𝑠)
iv) Addition of aqueous ammonia
The soluble hydrogen carbonates are converted into insoluble carbonates. This enables magnesium and
calcium ions to be removed from wate. i.e;
2NH4OH(aq) Mg(HCO3)2(aq) MgCO3(s) (NH4)2CO3(aq) H2O(l)
Jonathanolnga72@[Link]
Method of removing permanent hardness
i) Addition of sodium carbonate solution (washing soda) Sodium carbonate converts magnesium
or calcium ions into insoluble carbonates.
Na2CO3(aq) + CaSO4 (aq) Na2SO4 (aq) + CaCO3(s)
ii) Distillation:
The soft water is collected as the distillate and the dissolved calcium and magnesium ions remain in
the distillation flask as residue (expensive method). The water obtained by this method is pure.
iii) Ion exchange method (permutit method) : used to soften water on a large scale. Hard water is
passed through a chemical called permutit and the calcium and magnesium ions are removed by
exchanging them for sodium ions. For example;
MgSO4(aq) Na2Y(aq) MgY(s) 2Na2SO4(aq)
This method works on the principle of exchange of ions. The calcium and magnesium ions are
removed from during the process.
Differences between temporary hardness and permanent hardness
TEMPORARY HARDNESS PERMANENT HARDNESS
Does not cause corrosion of hot water pipes, Causes corrosion of hot water pipes, boilers, etc
boilers etc
Causes scaling/ furring of hot water pipes or Does not cause scaling/ furring of hot water pipes
boilers
Jonathanolnga72@[Link]